Monday, March 23, 2015

Be the brand you can be on social media but not more

It's a difficult balancing act to be on social media as a brand. You want to engage with water cooler chat and gossip and have fun with people, but when speaking as a brand there are a few key steps to take to not go too far.

1. Don't try too hard. Desperate pleas to buy your product or trying to hard to insert your name into every hashtag conversation shows quickly that you are being a salesman and not a social being. Just stop doing that.

2. Too many cooks. You have lots of people logging in without a unique voice for your brand so you end up all over the place and sounding somewhat bipolar. It is fine to have multiple employees doing your social media, but have strategies in place and agree upon a voice.

3. Don't be boring. If all I ever see from my favorite pizzeria is today's special and there is no personality in their "social" media, than I'm probably cutting you off. They love the people behind the brand, so let that come through. Just remember, #1 and don't try too hard to please them. Let conversations flow naturally but don't forget to let them happen at all. Engage. Don't just post. Talk back, be fun, enjoy.

Bonus: Over at Adweek, they have a great infographic explaining why people unfollow brands. Study it, learn it, follow it.